Michael J. Loeb was a labor and employment lawyer for more than 30 years before joining JAMS in March 2006. He has been mediating cases since 1991. Mr. Loeb began his career as a staff attorney for the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board trying unfair labor practice cases. For three decades he was a “full service” labor and employment lawyer first at Crosby Heafey Roach & May, Oakland (later merged with Reed Smith), and then with McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, whose labor and employment law department he led before its merger with Bingham Dana forming Bingham McCutchen in 2002. Mr. Loeb has mediated, litigated, tried, or arbitrated virtually every conceivable type of labor, employment, and employment benefits dispute in federal and state courts, including discrimination and wage and hour class actions. He has mediated more than 100 wage and hour class actions involving the alleged misclassification of employees as exempt, the failure to provide meal and rest periods, the alleged misclassification of employees as independent contractors, the failure to distribute tips and service charges, donning and doffing claims, travel time, and off the clock work. Mr. Loeb has mediated class actions involving California, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, and Illinois wage and hour laws and the FLSA. Mr. Loeb is currently arbitrating two wage and hour class actions, has rendered class certification decisions as an arbitrator, and determined whether “silent” arbitration clauses permit the arbitration of class actions.